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Photographs of Earthquake Devastation in Nepal

APRIL 28, 2015

When Nepal was hit with a powerful earthquake on April 25th, the tremor shattered lives, landmarks and the very landscape of the country. The death toll soon mounted into the thousands, with hundreds of thousands more homeless and aid agencies struggling to cope. The scope of the disaster can be seen in the following photographs.

May 6

Villagers searched for their belongings in the rubble of their homes on Wednesday in the village of Barpak, Nepal.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

About 1,200 of the village’s 1,450 buildings are gone or so severely damaged that they might as well be. Wood and stone buildings crumbled easily, collapsing and blanketing the village and its inhabitants in debris. Houses made of concrete largely withstood the earthquake.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Buddy Prasad Grg was carried to an Indian helicopter after being injured during an aftershock in the village of Lampuk.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Villagers shielded their faces during an aid drop by an Indian helicopter in Lampuk.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Nepalese soldiers searched through a collapsed house in Sankhu, on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Adnan Abidi/Reuters

A boy reached into a cabinet from his destroyed home in Bhaktapur.

Olivia Harris/Reuters

May 5

Saainli Gurung, center, mourned the death of her son after his body was discovered Tuesday in the village of Barpak, Nepal, near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Rescue workers discovered the body of the man, Purbahadur Gurung, who was getting his hair cut at the village barber shop when the earthquake struck. He was still sitting upright more than two weeks later when his body was pulled from piles of heavy rubble.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

People sorting through the rubble of their home in Jalkini, Nepal.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

People searching for any belongings they can salvage from collapsed houses in Sankhu, on the outskirts of Kathmandu.

Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

People who found some usable belongings from the remains of their home in Kathmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

People burning papers and other damaged items gathered from their destroyed home in Kathmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

A man buying supplies at a store, one of the only buildings still standing in Dolalghat, Nepal.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

May 4

A pregnant Nepalese woman, carrying her lifeless child inside her, was carried into an ambulance after being evacuated by an Indian Army helicopter from the village of Pokhartar, Nepal, on Monday. The nation continued its struggle to recover from an earthquake on April 25 that has left more than 7,300 people dead.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Indian and Nepalese army officers blocked Nepalese villagers as they frantically tried to force their way onto an Indian Army helicopter in the village of Bihi.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Nepalese villagers being evacuated from the village of Barpak by an Indian Army helicopter.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Barpak, a village in Nepal’s Western region near the epicenter of the earthquake, as seen from a relief and rescue helicopter.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

A young villager in a helicopter after being evacuated from Bihi, Nepal.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

A damaged building in the Balaju section of Kathmandu.

Diego Azubel/European Pressphoto Agency

A street in Kathmandu, the Nepalese capital, which was devastated by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake.

David Ramos/Getty Images

People lit oil lamps during Buddha Purnima celebrations at Boudhanath Stupa in Kathmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

May 3

A Nepali villager injured by falling debris during the April 25 earthquake, left, and other villagers inside an Indian Army helicopter.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

The woman was evacuated from the village of Philim.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Nepali villagers collected supplies from an Indian military helicopter in the Gorkha district. Such supplies have been piling up at the airport and in warehouses in Kathmandu, the capital, because of interference by Nepali authorities who insist that standard customs inspections and other procedures be followed, even in an emergency, Western government and aid organization officials say.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Young monks were evacuated by helicopter from Hinang monastery in Lhi village.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Women removed debris while searching the remains of their house in Bhaktapur.

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

Men worked in a store in Bhaktapur.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Debris littered a street in Bhaktapur.

David Ramos/Getty Images

May 2

Villagers unloaded relief aid from an Indian Army helicopter in Ranehak, Nepal, near the epicenter of the earthquake in the Gorkha district.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Relief supplies dropped from an Indian Army helicopter in Ranehak.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Nepali soldiers moved away as a damaged building collapsed in Sankhu.

David Ramos/Getty Images

People lifted the body of a relative onto a funeral pyre in Kathmandu.

Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A man entered his damaged house in Kathmandu.

Narendra Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency

A woman in the remote village of Phalame.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

May 1

Houses in Nuwakot, Nepal, north of Katmandu, that were destroyed by the earthquake.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Residents foraged through the rubble-strewn remains of their homes in Shankharapur, Nepal.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Earthquake survivors boarded an Indian helicopter to be evacuated from their village on Friday in Gorkha, Nepal.

Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

People injured in the earthquake were evacuated by helicopter from Melamchi, Nepal.

Olivia Harris/Reuters

Villagers moved to a safer area after losing their homes in the Gorkha district of Nepal.

Narendra Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency

Nepalese Army personnel entered a collapsed building in search of victims in Katmandu.

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

A girl reacted to the death of her father after a rescue team recovered his body from a collapsed building in Katmandu.

Women attended the funeral of a family member on the banks of the Bagmati River at the Pashupatinath temple in Katmandu.

Manan Vatsyayana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

People lit candles to form a map of Nepal during a candlelight vigil in Katmandu.

Hemanta Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency

April 30

Villagers looked on as a helicopter with food and relief supplies prepared to take off in Charikot, Nepal. Although aftershocks from Saturday’s earthquake continue, the terrible weather seemed to have persuaded an increasing number to leave the tent cities that have been set up throughout the Katmandu.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Pemba Tamang, 15, was rescued after being trapped for five days under rubble from Nepal’s earthquake. The death toll from the earthquake has already exceeded 5,800, with many more confirmed deaths expected.

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Relatives mourned the death of a woman killed in the earthquake as she was cremated at a temple in Katmandu.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Survivors gathered near damaged buildings in Katmandu on Thursday, five days after the devastating earthquake.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Women were escorted to safety in Charikot, Nepal, after being airlifted out of a remote village affected by the earthquake.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Villagers trekked up a mountain back home with aid supplies they received in the village of Balua, near the epicenter of the massive earthquake.

Wally Santana/Associated Press

People searched for their belongings amid the rubble of destroyed homes in Bhaktapur, Nepal.

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Police stood in line, ready to clear rubble at the site of a destroyed building in Katmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

Men prepared a victim of the earthquake for cremation in Katmandu.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

April 29

People looked for belongings in their destroyed home on Wednesday in Bhaktapur, Nepal. A major 7.8 earthquake hit Kathmandu midday on Saturday, and was followed by multiple aftershocks that triggered avalanches on Mount Everest that buried mountain climbers in their base camps.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Members of a rescue team retrieved the body of an earthquake victim from the ruins of his home in Bhaktapur.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Nepal, like other developing nations experiencing rapid urban expansion, has not developed the regulatory muscle to cope as its urban population has multiplied.

People lined up on the street outside a government building as they waited for free bus rides out the city center in Katmandu.

David Ramos/Getty Images

Rescue workers searched for victims at a destroyed building in Katmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

A young girl waited on board a bus to be evacuated from Katmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

The body of an earthquake victim was washed before a cremation ceremony at Pashupatinah temple in Katmandu.

Chris Mcgrath/Getty Images

A man was consoled by a family member as the body of a relative was removed from the ruins of his home.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Rescue workers from Japan in the center of of Katmandu.

Philippe Lopez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A rubble-littered alley on Wednesday in Bhaktapur.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

April 28

Victims of the earthquake were cremated in Katmandu on Tuesday. Since the earthquake struck Nepal on Saturday, killing more than 5,000 people at the latest count, the government has instituted disaster-response plans, galvanized the army and received planeloads of aid every day from dozens of other countries.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

People stood in line for clean water in Katmandu on Tuesday. Residents there said their biggest worry was a lack of safe drinking water, even as they endured the latest pelting of rain.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Military personnel carried an earthquake victim to a hospital in Gorkha, a district near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters

Rescue workers on Tuesday continued with search and recovery operations in Katmandu. “Our primary, primary, primary goal is to rescue the people,” the official, Brig. Gen. Jagadish Pokharel, a spokesman for the Nepalese Army, told a group of reporters after a briefing on the aid effort.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

Damaged houses in Gorkha are seen from an Indian Army helicopter.

Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

People sheltered from the rain as an Indian Army helicopter delivered aid at Lapu village in Gorkha. The Nepalese government has struggled to deliver food, water, tents and other aid across this poor, mountainous country of 28 million people.

Sajjad Hussain/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A man tried to clear debris from his house in Sindhupalchok, Nepal, on Tuesday.

Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Workers repaired power lines damaged in the earthquake in Katmandu.

Daniel Berehulak for The New York Times

A woman mourned the death of her 9-year-old son during a cremation ceremony at the Pashupatinata temple in Katmandu.

Menahem Kahana/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

April 27

Nepalese soldiers evacuated the injured from Trishuli Bazar to Katmandu Monday on an Indian Air Force helicopter.

Altaf Qadri/Associated Press

Earthquake victims were transported by helicopter from Trishuli Bazar to the Katmandu’s airport.

Jitendra Prakash/Reuters

Damaged buildings in Bhaktapur. The official death toll had risen to more than 4,000 on Monday.

Abir Abdullah/European Pressphoto Agency

Thousands of residents took shelter in an evacuation area in a Katmandu park.

Omar Havana/Getty Images

A man and a child waited for an ambulance at Katmandu’s airport. The airport had been so overloaded by aid and passenger planes that incoming flights sat for hours on the runway.

Altaf Qadri/Associated Press

Damaged buildings in Katmandu. Humanitarian aid was starting to flow to the capital, but many of the worst-hit villages in the ridges around Katmandu remained a black hole, surrounded by landslides that made them inaccessible even to the country’s armed forces.

Wally Santana/Associated Press

People searched for belongings in their destroyed home in Bhaktapur.

Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press

Charging cell phones in Katmandu.

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

A woman wept as her father’s body was prepared for cremation in Katmandu.

Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

Victims of the earthquake were cremated beside a river in Katmandu.

Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

People warmed themselves as fears of aftershocks kept many outdoors.

Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press

April 26

People searched for family members trapped inside collapsed houses on Sunday in Bhaktapur. Sitting atop a major tectonic fault, Nepal is accustomed to the tremors of the earth. But this time it has been overwhelmed by a powerful quake that killed thousands.

Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters

Rescue personnel helped a trapped earthquake survivor, at right, as his friend lay dead next to him in Kathmandu.

Prakash Mathema/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Members of a rescue team collected bodies from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Katmandu.

Narendra Shrestha/European Pressphoto Agency

A woman wept during the cremation of a victim of the earthquake, at the Pashupatinath Temple on the banks of the Bagmati River in Katmandu.

Bernat Armangue/Associated Press

On Sunday afternoon, the streets of Katmandu were filled with people carrying bedrolls and pillows to any open space they could find. Few people seemed willing to sleep inside, fearful that the next shock might make their homes pancake.

Omar Havana/Getty Images

Prayer flags framed a rescue helicopter as it ferried injured people from Everest Base Camp.

Roberto Schmidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

An injured person was carried by rescue members at Everest Base Camp. At least 18 people died in the area of the camp, which is 18,000 feet above sea level.

Roberto Schmidt/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Rescue workers removed debris as they searched for victims in Bhaktapur, near Katmandu.

Niranjan Shrestha/Associated Press

Relatives with a body before its cremation on Sunday in Bhaktapur.

Omar Havana/Getty Images

April 25

Emergency rescue workers carried a victim on a stretcher after the Dharara Tower collapsed on Saturday in Katmandu, Nepal.

Omar Havana/Getty Images

People cleared rubble in Durbar Square, a Unesco World Heritage site in Katmandu that was severely damaged by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

Prakash Mathema/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Nepal, a nation of 27 million, was in political and economic disarray well before the earthquake.